Robotic Process Automation (RPA ) - Next Revolution of Productivity

When the UK’s House of Commons Science and Technology Committee released its ‘Robots and Artificial Intelligence’ report in November this year, it was a much needed wake up call, encouraging the government to seriously consider the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) on the future of the UK workforce.

The report stated that robotics and AI will drive improvements in productivity and efficiency, which will have significant implications for the UK workforce. There is, however, no consensus on the precise nature of those impacts. Some predict that automation will cause a rise in unemployment, while others think that automation will cause people to move away from traditional job roles and create new ones.

So, how can companies make sure they are prepared for the impact of automation, if they are not sure what that impact will be?

We can begin by looking at the history of automation, and the lessons that it has taught us. Automation has been changing the world of work for centuries, and yet it has not led us to mass unemployment, or the destruction of the workplace. When faced with automation, people have re-skilled, and adapted to a new way of living.

If this has been the cause until now, why should the robotics and AI revolution be any different? The major difference with robotics and AI technology is that in the not too distant future, there may be no uniquely human skills. Those with capital, therefore, can and will be able to make it work entirely for themselves, without assistance - leaving those with little capital facing a real dilemma.

What will robots mean for employment in the immediate future, and what can companies do to take advantage of the benefits?

Software robots continue to replace manual jobs in areas where we have, demoralising, already tried to turn humans into robots -  in large scale service deliver centres, for instance. This type of robot is simply a productivity tool, just like a PC. As smarter cognitive technology is introduced over the next few years, we will still be using this technology to enhance productivity in human-centric environments.

Making the most of automation in service industries requires a measured, but agile approach. Here is a number of things companies should be considering:

1.       Engagement. Make sure you have a plan and that you’re focused on the problem itself, not just the technology solutions. Make sure your IT and digital team are engaged and on side, so that they can support your vision of automation within operations.

2.       Improvement. Make sure your processes and operations are running smoothly before you begin automating them. Speeding up the wrong process won’t help anybody.

3.       Orchestration. Recognise that you are moving from manual, to automated processes. Investing in intelligent orchestration technology will provide you with the tools you need to ensure you’ve got a clear business case for what should be automated first, helping you to get the process right before automation. This technology will provide complete transparency as to whether the automation has worked properly, which will help you stay in control of your automation journey.

4.       Choose the right tool for the job. Utilise the human skills that are deployed in your organisation and then match the right tools – this could be a click bot or a natural language component, a classifier or the rules engine in our automation component.

5.       Keep calm. Don’t think that smart machines are a replacement for the need for processes, rules and practices.

Remember that people are still your most valuable asset. It’s not about humans vs. robots – the new workforce needs to be positioned as collaboration, not a competition.

Service Orchestration - Moving beyond RPA Pilot

Robotic process automation (RPA) technology is transformative – it makes it easy to automate repetitive, tedious tasks.

But while RPA has been around for a few years, many organisations manage to make it beyond the pilot stage. So why is it that when the pilot programme ends, RPA projects so often crash into the ground?

We need to adopt new technology and thinking in order to take RPA from single pilot programmes to strategic adoption – and it’s called Service Orchestration.

Here are the three main reasons why so many RPA project fail to progress beyond the pilot stage:

1. Automation teams lack direction

The majority of RPA projects begin with an evaluation and diagnostic phase, where analysts and consultants will identify candidates for automation. This process usually takes several weeks.

Once a task candidate is identified, the automation can begin. It takes around six weeks until the automation delivers, and a further six weeks until the results are in. By this point, the automation team have usually moved on to focus on another diagnostic phase, but even then they struggle to establish whether they have found the best candidate for automation.

During each diagnostic phase, consultants check every possible task before moving on to the next island of value. How much more efficient would it be if you had a map that allowed you to see all the islands of value, and pointed you in the right direction from one to the next?

2. RPA is not a one-size-fits-all solution

Correctly programmed, RPA platforms make excellent task bots: they are exceptional at doing the same things over and over again. What they haven’t been designed to do, however, is manage an end-to-end service, this is what customers actually want to buy.

End-to-end services involve different kinds of bot, service delivery teams and customers. Engineers often make the mistake of trying to use RPA tools to manage workflow, scheduling and measurement across customers and employees – jobs that they simply aren’t suited for.

3. People are people, not robots

The majority of RPA diagnostics require staff to volunteer details about what they do to aid the automation. Although many people engage in the process as a one off, they may not want to do so on an on-going basis. We often see this problem in offshore teams in particular, where we have tried to turn employees into robots, and so the threat is felt more keenly.

So what’s the solution?

Service Orchestration (SO) technology fills the gaps left by RPA. With SO, you can create, manage and map out your entire automation journey. Deploying SO enables you to rapidly gain visibility and control of all the processes and tasks involved in service delivery.

It could take weeks to automate a single task or mini process with RPA, but SO can be deployed across tens of services at the same time. Once installed, SO platforms can deliver accurate data, highlight the best candidates for automation and establish the best business case for each.

SO platforms are also designed to manage activity between people and bots, to deliver a seamless, end-to-end service. Complete, end-to-end processes are executed though the orchestration platform by distributing tasks to people and instructing bots where required.

In short – service orchestration platforms control who (or what) is doing which task, where, when and why, in order to meet a customer’s requirements.